Top Questions for Job Boards to Ask Job Scraping Providers

For job boards, a constant supply of fresh and relevant job listings is the lifeblood of user engagement. Many rely on job scraping technology to gather and structure job listings from company career pages, job boards, and other sources.

The risk of choosing a poor scraping partner has significant consequences: Issues like poor data quality, compliance violations, frequent downtime, or even vendor lock-in can damage your reputation and waste your investment. 

Before signing a contract, job boards must dig deeper. Below are 8 essential questions every job board should ask a job scraping provider to safeguard data quality, compliance, and long-term growth.

Where Is Your Data Stored? 

Data storage location is more than a technical detail—it’s a compliance issue. 

Onshore vs. Offshore: Data stored in the US may be subject to the Patriot Act, allowing government access to certain information, and regulatory changes or global tariffs can complicate international data transfers. 

EU-based hosting requires strict GDPR compliance, with heavy penalties for violations. While this offers stronger privacy safeguards, cross-border transfers outside the EU can still create compliance challenges under evolving adequacy agreements.

Offshore storage in countries with weaker data protection laws—such as parts of Asia, Africa, or Latin America—creates vulnerabilities, including poor breach notification practices, limited recourse, and exposure to political instability. 

Job boards must carefully evaluate where their providers store data. The safest choice is typically onshore storage in regions with strong privacy frameworks and transparent cross-border data agreements.

• Problematic jurisdictions: Some countries may lack robust data protection laws, making data vulnerable to misuse. 

• Risks: Poor storage practices can lead to data breaches, cyberattacks, or costly fines. 

Key takeaway: Ensure your provider hosts data in compliant regions and follows strict security standards (e.g., encryption at rest, ISO-certified hosting).

What Filters Do They Offer? 

Filters separate quality job data from irrelevant noise. 

• Common filters: job type, categories, location, keywords, salary, date posted, duplicate postings. 

• Why it matters: Without filters, your job board risks showing irrelevant, duplicate, or spammy postings. 

• Customization: Look for providers offering advanced, customizable filtering for your niche. 

Checklist: A strong provider should allow both standard and custom filters to match your board’s unique audience needs.

What Standard and Premium Enrichment Do They Offer?

Enrichment enhances raw job data into structured, searchable content. 

• Standard enrichment: location parsing, duplicate removal, consistent formatting. 

• Premium enrichment: Includes custom scraping tailored to niche boards, quality assurance scans, comprehensive metadata, taxonomy alignment, and delivery in custom formats—ensuring richer, more accurate job listings for enhanced usability and search relevance.

Impact: Enriched job listings are more accurate, searchable, and engaging—directly improving user satisfaction and time on site.

How Do They Overcome Site Blocking? 

Websites often block scrapers with CAPTCHAs, bot detection, or IP bans. 

• Why it matters: increasingly ATS providers are implementing security measures, making once straight-forward authorized company scrapes hard to scrape. Consistent job data delivery is vital for job board uptime. 

• Reliable strategies: Proxy rotation, headless browsing, and advanced anti-blocking techniques. 

• Red flag: Providers with frequent downtime or broken feeds. 

Tip: Ask for their track record— How have they handled these kinds of challenges for their current customers?

What Are Their QA Processes?

Job data is only valuable when it is complete, accurate, and consistently updated. A strong provider should have rigorous QA processes. 

Effective QA should address multiple risks: 

• Missing jobs: Ensuring all postings from the target source are captured without gaps. 

• Missing fields within jobs: Detecting incomplete records, such as missing salary, location, or company details. 

• Unstructured or inconsistent fields: Converting raw job data into standardized, structured formats for usability. 

• Expired or outdated listings: Removing old or inactive jobs to maintain user trust. 

Comprehensive QA combines automated scans, structured field checks, monitoring dashboards, and human review layers to ensure accuracy and freshness. 

Best practice: Choose providers that not only perform these checks but also back their QA with timely, reliable job data.

What Kind of Job Feed Format Will They Provide? 

Job boards often require different feed formats depending on their tech stack. 

• Common formats: JSON, XML, CSV, API feeds. 

• Why it matters: Compatibility ensures seamless integration with your ATS or custom platform. 

• Flexibility: Providers offering multiple formats support scalability as your board grows. 

Pro tip: Ask for samples of feeds before committing. 

Does Their Technology Handle Custom Job Scraping for Niche Job Boards? 

Not all job boards are alike—niche boards need specialized data. 

• Healthcare: May require certifications, license data, or shift types. 

• Tech: Needs parsing to categorize emerging job titles or skills. 

• Education: May involve contract terms or semester details. 

Question to ask: Can they build custom scrapers for specialized sites in your niche? Can the output files be customized to your Job Board’s structure and the jobs be correctly enriched? Providers with this flexibility future-proof your job board. 

Does the Job Scraping Provider Offer Volume Discounting on Bulk Scraping? 

For job boards scaling their operations, costs can quickly add up when scraping hundreds of sources daily. Some providers offer tiered pricing or bulk discounts based on volume. 

• Why it matters: Without volume-based pricing, costs can spiral as your job board grows. 

• Best practice: Ask if the provider offers discounts for bulk scraping, multi-source projects, or long-term contracts to maximize ROI. 

What Scraping Frequency Options Are There?

The frequency of scraping directly affects how fresh and competitive your job listings appear. 

• Common options: hourly, daily, weekdays, 3 times per week, weekly, or custom intervals depending on source sites and board needs. 

• Why it matters: Too infrequent scraping risks stale listings; overly frequent scraping may trigger site blocking or add unnecessary costs. 

• Best practice: Look for providers who offer flexible frequency controls and can tailor schedules to match your niche’s demand patterns.

Conclusion

Choosing a job scraping provider isn’t just about price—it’s about long-term reliability, compliance, and growth. 

By asking these 8 questions, job boards can avoid wasted investment, irrelevant data, and compliance headaches. Remember, the right provider isn’t just a vendor—they’re a strategic partner in your success.